Shadow Slave

[Weakening Curse] allowed Sunny to do the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be capable of. His Dormant Ability, [Shadow Control], was the reason why his invaluable shadow helpers could augment him—or things that belonged to him, as well as those beings who belonged to his Domain. Similarly, while the [Weakening Curse] was active, beings held in the cold embrace of his shadows would become weaker. Naturally, the effect was cumulative, and just as Sunny gained progressively more power when several shadows augmented him, his enemies would lose progressively more of their own when more than one shadow wrapped itself around them.

There were situations where making the enemy weaker was more beneficial than making oneself stronger. Deciding which action was of more use in a particular battle would require careful consideration, no doubt—and there was the question of safety, as well. Embracing the enemy was not the safest tactic in most cases, after all. Even without the potential danger of branding a lethal foe with the [Weakening Curse], the utility of this enchantment seemed situational at best, though... and questionable at worst—at least compared to what Sunny could do naturally.

However, there were two reasons why the [Weakening Curse] was actually far more harrowing a power than it seemed.

First was the [Underworld Armament]. The second was its synergy with the [Shadow Flame] and the [Mercy of Shadow]. [Shadow Flame], [Mercy of Shadow], and the [Weakening Curse]...

These three enchantments each possessed its own value, but they were really designed to work together.

[Shadow Flame] allowed Sunny to share the augmentation of his shadows among a great number of targets. Therefore... it also allowed the [Weakening Curse] to affect a great number of victims.

Who was to say that he could only curse seven foes, or one powerful enemy seven times over?

With the [Shadow Flame] and the [Weakening Curse] working in tandem, he could rob thousands of enemies of their strength—tens of thousands of them, or even millions, if he wished to.

And that was not all.

Sunny and his shadows were inseparable, and each of them was a conduit of his will. So, all beings empowered or weakened by them were connected to him—and he could use that connection to channel his Death Will into them.

Which, of course, would itself be empowered by the [Mercy of Shadow].

And all of it—the enhancement of the [Shadow Flame], the insidious hex of the [Weakening Curse], and the merciless finality of the [Mercy of Shadow]—would be augmented by the [Underworld Armament], as well.

In other words, if Sunny decided to share the augmentation of his shadows with a thousand shades, the boon they would receive would be greater than his own. And if he decided to weaken a thousand Nightmare Creatures, the sum of power they lost would be greater than what he would have received.

His Death Will would be greatly enhanced, as well...

So much so that his killing intent would be actually fatal to creatures of lesser Ranks—much like a distant echo of Nether’s killing intent had almost killed Sunny once upon a time, in the eye of the storm on the Great River.

Nephis could wipe out a swarm of Nightmare Creatures with one powerful explosion.

With the chilling synergy between the [Shadow Flame], the [Weakening Curse], and the [Mercy of Shadow], though, Sunny did not need an explosion.

He could simply wish the creatures dead, and their lifeless bodies would fall to the ground.

Granted, one of Neph’s obliterating explosions would still be more devastating. But Sunny could put on quite a respectable show as well, now—that was the solution he had come up with to make up for the most glaring blind spot of his otherwise supremely versatile Aspect.

‘Quite fitting for someone who calls himself the Sovereign of Death, is it not?”

Looking at the dark splendor of the ancient city that sprawled in front of him, Sunny smiled faintly.

For some reason, at that moment, he finally felt like a demigod. The things he could achieve with the Curse were not really more impressive than what he could already do, just different. However, the ability to kill someone by simply looking at them and wishing them dead felt distinctly beyond the mortal realm. It was something that only those who were more divine than mortal were supposed to be capable of.

Of course, Sunny could probably achieve something similar already, albeit on a smaller scale. It was just that he had never had a reason or wanted to unleash the full force of his Death Will upon mundane people, and someone like him had few opportunities to face Nightmare Creatures of the lower Ranks.

Sunny sighed.

‘I only ever fight things that are unreasonably powerful...’

Granted, he was an unreasonably powerful thing himself, as well.

And finally, there was the last enchantment of the Curse...

The [Chain.]

It was as much of a utility enchantment as it was the ultimate one. The [Chain] was what made the Curse a compound Memory—now Attribute—and allowed the seven links to enhance each other when combined into a single chain. ɽáΝȫ฿ÈȘ

The passive effect of the [Chain] allowed the power of the Curse to grow steadily as Sunny enhanced himself with his shadows. However, it could only be truly activated when all seven of his incarnations fused into one, and when all seven links were combined together.

Once activated, the [Chain] produced a resonance between individual links, making the sum of their power greater than its parts—all enchantments of the Curse received a fearsome boost, making it even more harrowing.

The [Chain] had a secondary function when activated, as well.

It could be manifested and used to bind something—or someone.

In this state, the [Chain] embodied the concept of permanence.

Therefore, it could be used both offensively and defensively.

It could be used, for example, to bind a powerful enemy in place.

However, it could also be used to bind Sunny himself, thus pinning a snapshot of his existence to the fabric of reality. No matter how his body was mangled afterward while the [Chain] was active, it would return to the form it had been before.

The same went for his soul, spirit, and mind.

So if he had to use Shadow Dance and felt like losing himself in the process... in theory, the [Chain] would be able to bring him back.

It could be a tether that bound Sunny to himself, as well, at least until he found a way to regain his True Name. That was what he was hoping for—however, as with all things having to do with concepts and higher planes of existence, the actual result was hard to predict. It was a bit of a mystery even for the person who had woven the enchantment.

Nevertheless, Sunny felt a strange affection for the [Chain].

His existence had become quite vague and ephemeral ever since all traces of him were erased from reality. He was not attached to the world by the strings of fate anymore, and the delicate tethers of human connections he had created were now tenuous at best. Nothing chained him to the world...

So, the [Chain] could do that instead. It was a tool with which he could root himself firmly into the fabric of existence, and therefore not feel like he could be dispelled by a gust of wind like a fragile mirage. Letting out a quiet sigh, Sunny smiled and dismissed the Jade Mantle, thus allowing the Curse to disappear into his soul.

After years of planning and meticulously developing the design of the astonishing weave, he had finally created his own shadowbound relic...

He had created the Curse.

Whistling a simple melody, Sunny headed for the Dark Castle.

‘All things considered... I think it went well.’ Now, all he wanted to do was rest.